Applicators for applying chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides to agricultural products are well known in the art. In the past, applicators were employed to apply solid chemicals above ground around agricultural plants and trees. Because these solid chemicals where above ground, nearby farm animals and birds could ingest these chemicals and become ill or die.
In an attempt to overcome this problem, liquid agricultural chemical applicators where developed. One such applicator 10 included in a closed loop liquid applicator system is shown in FIG. 1. In applying a liquid agricultural chemical, a portion of the applicator, the nozzle 12, had to be pushed below the soil such that the liquid agricultural chemical could be injected to an area proximate to the roots of the plant or tree. This applicator, however, had significant drawbacks.
One drawback is that it took a relatively long period of time to apply the liquid chemical. Each application of the liquid chemical required the operator to push the nozzle under the soil for every plant or tree. It would be highly desirable to provide an apparatus that reduces the time needed to apply a liquid herbicide to plants and/or trees.
Another drawback of conventional liquid applicators is that the operator is required to exert a relatively large amount energy when pushing the nozzle underground. This operation quickly exhausts operators of their strength after applying the chemical to a number of plants or trees. It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an apparatus for applying a liquid agricultural chemical that requires less effort than conventional liquid applicators.